Bangladesh’s chief justice resigns under pressure as Yunus-led caretaker government begins work

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh Supreme Court Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned Saturday amid fresh protests by a group of students and other demonstrators. The country’s caretaker government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, began operating days after a mass uprising forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India.

Asif Nazrul, an adviser on law, justice and parliamentary affairs for the caretaker government, said in a video posted on Facebook that his office had received the resignation letter and would forward it to the country’s paramount president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, who would take further action.

Five other top Supreme Court judges also resigned on Saturday, in an attempt by the new government to reorganise the judiciary.

Tensions rose Saturday morning after the president of the court of appeal summoned judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court to discuss the functioning of the judiciary under the new government. Protesters gathered in large numbers at the courthouse and demanded that the president of the court of appeal and other judges of the highest court resign from their posts.

Key student leader Asif Mahmud, appointed as an advisor to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has called on his supporters to gather at the courthouse and press for an unconditional resignation. In a post on Facebook this morning, he called on them to resign unconditionally.

Students argue that the judiciary should act independently of the influence of politicians and other authorities.

“We all believe that these judges were not only sympathetic to the previous government, but also that they were in the pockets of this party. That is why we do not want any corrupt judges in the judiciary,” said Tahsim Uzzaman, a 26-year-old business and English literature student, adding that “we want a completely new system – the whole point of the movement is to have no discrimination, and that is not possible if corruption still exists.”

Yunus took the oath of office on Thursday, and 16 other members were appointed to his interim cabinet, who were chosen largely from civil society and included two leaders of student protests after the president dissolved parliament. The new cabinet members were chosen after talks earlier this week between student leaders, civil society representatives and the military.

On Saturday, Yunus visited the family of a student who died in the northern district of Rangpur, sparking nationwide protests and violence. The death of Abu Sayeed, 25, became a symbol of the protests when he spread both arms, inviting police to open fire on him. He then collapsed and was pronounced dead by doctors. The footage quickly spread on social media, and the unrest spread.

Yunus was accompanied by two student leaders who formed part of the temporary cabinet.

“We must stand as Abu Sayeed stood,” he said after visiting his family.

“Abu Sayeed’s mother is the mother of all. We have to protect her, protect her sisters, protect her brothers. We all have to do this together,” Yunus added.

Student protests began in July against a quota system for government jobs that critics said benefited those associated with Hasina’s party. She resigned and fled to India on Monday after the protests turned into a movement against her government, leaving more than 300 people dead, including students and police officers, in the violence.

Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for helping the poor through his work developing the microcredit market in Bangladesh. He was in Paris for the Olympics when he was chosen for the temporary role.

He has called for peace and promised reforms. The caretaker government is expected to call new elections, but it is unclear how long it plans to stay in power or when they might be held. The country’s main opposition has called for new elections in three months, but they are unlikely to happen, analysts say.

Nazrul said the Yunus government would remain in power as long as necessary, seeking to meet the expectations of people and political parties for “reforms” and “elections”.

Hasina’s party, the Awami League, did not provide details on the election date, but her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy said the election would be unacceptable without their party as it is the “largest” party in Bangladesh.

Yunus had a frosty relationship with Hasina, who called him a “bloodsucker” for allegedly using force to extract loan repayments from poor villagers, mostly women. Yunus has denied the accusations.

He faced many court cases and was convicted by the court of violating the national labor law and sentenced to six months in prison. However, during the appeal he was on bail and before the nomination he was acquitted of the charges.

He was quickly elected to head a caretaker government as Hasina’s fall created a vacuum and left the future of Bangladesh, a country with a long history of military rule and numerous crises, uncertain.

Hasina, 76, was elected to a fourth consecutive term in January, but the vote was boycotted by her main opponents, and thousands of opposition activists were detained earlier. The U.S. and Britain condemned the result as unreliable. Hasina’s critics say her administration has been increasingly marred by human rights abuses and corruption, and has followed a path of authoritarianism.

The chaos on the streets of Bangladesh continued after her resignation, with dozens of police officers killed, prompting a nationwide police shutdown.

The military is helping police officers return to work, but it will take more time to overcome the trauma and restore full functionality of the police administration.

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AP journalist Krutika Pathi contributed to this report.